Landing-gear for flying-machines



M. F'. STUPAR. LANDING GEA'R FOR FLYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, I919- v v Patented June 1, 1920.

7 m awa.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAXIMILLIAN F. STUPAR, F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 ABRAHAM J.ELIAS,

OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

LANDING-GEAR FOR FLYING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J nne 1, 1920.

Application filed July 30, 1919. Serial No. 314,294.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAXIMILLIAN F. STU- PAR, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing cushion the shocks incident to making landings. Thepossible variation in the position of the wheel axle or shaft forwardlyor rearwardly with reference to the center of weight of the machine iscomparatively limited. If the wheels are too far rearward they are aptto cause the machine tonose over or tip forwardly in making a landing,

especially when landing on soft or uneven ground. On the other hand, ifthe wheels are set too far forwardly, the lifting effect of the landinggear springs on the rear end or tail of the machine is so reduced as tomagnify the drag of the tail on the ground and greatly increase thedifiiculty of rising from the ground. In any case it is a seriousproblem to provide, in a single axle construction, a sufficient numberof springs or elastic. bands to give the requisite spring support for alarge, heavy machine without unduly complicating the construction andincreasing the wind resistance.

The object of this invention is to produce a practical and efficientlanding gear for flying machines which will overcome the above notedobjections and provide an adequate and desirable resilient support forlarge, heavy machines.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of alanding gear embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a transverse. section thereof on line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, on a reduced scale, showing thearrangement of two-like landing gears on a machine.

A represents the landing gear frame, or

depending portion of the main frame of a flying machine on which theground wheels are mounted. This frame ma be of any suitableconstruction, having t e necessary strength, rigidity and lightness. Theframe shown has a substantially vertical front post or member 10, abrace 11 which inclines upwardly and rearwardly'from the lower portionof the front post 10, and a lower end portion which is preferablyextended fore and aft of the machine so as to form a relatively long,narrow base 12 for the connec-' tion of the ground wheels 13. The postand brace are of the usual stream-line form in cross-section. There arepreferably four ground wheels arranged in two pairs at the front andrear ends of a suitable wheel support or carriage. The wheel carriageshown is composed of two parallel side bars 14 which extend lengthwiseat opposite sides of the base 12 of the landing gear frame and areconnected at their front and rear ends by transverse shafts or axles 15on the ends of which the ground wheels are suitably mounted orjournaled. The wheel carriage is resiliently connected to the base ofthe landing gear frame by elastic bands 01 springs which permit thewheel carriage to yield upwardly relative to the landing gear frame, orthe latter to yield downwardly relatively to the wheel carriage.Preferably a series of cross rods 17 connecting the side bars, 14 of thewheel carriage extend transversely through vertically elongated slots 18in the base of the landing gear frame, and elastic or spring bands orloops 19 attached to'the projecting ends of the cross rods 1'7 passunder and engage the lower edge of the base 12 of the landing gearframe. A group of these bands are usually connected to each cross rod.Hooks or heads are preferably provided on the projectingends of thecross rods 17 to pre vent the disengagement of the bands from the rods,and the lower edge of the-landing gear frame is preferably provided withcross ribs or. projections which confine the elastic bands and preventthem from shifting on or disengagement from the base of the landing gearframe.

When the wheels rest on the groundfithe anding gear frame and the weightof the machine carried thereby are thus suspended from the wheelcarriage by a plurality of elastic bands. or loops which are located atintervals along the length of the carriage and yieldingly support themachine from the carriage and permit it to yield downwardly under theweight relatlvely to the wheel carriage. The wheels located at theopposite ends of the relatively long wheel carriage are spaced aconsiderable distance apart lengthwise of the machine or in thedirection of flight, and the front and rear Wheels can be thus disposedrespectively in front of and in rear of the center of weight of themachine. The wheel carriage can move bodily up and down relatively tothe landing gear frame while maintaining a substantially horizontalposition, so thatwhen the center of weight of the machine issubstantially over the center of the carriage the front and rear wheelshave substantially equal supporting effect. In addition, however, thedescribed resilient connections between the wheel carriage and thelanding gear frame permit either the front or rear end of the wheelcarriage to yield relatively to the landing gear frame to a greaterextent than the opposite end. Therefore, when the machine is making alanding, if the front wheels first strike the ground they can yieldupwardly and cushion the shock more or less until the rear wheels strikethe ground and cooperate with the front wheels in carrying the machine,the carriage being permitted to yield bodily horizontally whileremaining horizontal or to tip up at its front or rear end to equalizethe weight on the front and rear wheels and balance the machine. Thefront wheels can be located far enough forward to practically eliminatethe possibility of the machine nosing over and thus being damaged orinjuring the occupants in making landings. On the other hand, if themachine, in landing, is at such an inclination that the rear wheelsfirst strike the ground, these can yield and cushion the shock more orless and hold the tail of the machine oil the ground until the ma chinesettles on all of the wheels. In rising from the ground the rear wheels,being located in rear of the center of weight of the machine, have amuch greater effect in lifting. and holding the tail of the machine offof the ground than wheels located farther forward in the more usualarrangement, and the machine can therefore rise more readily. By thedescribed construction also, the resilient supports for the machine aredistributed over a considerable scribed and having'the wheelsappropriately riage is distance length- WISE of the c y eethatyanadequate spaced to give the requisite lateral stability to the machine,or in the case of very large machines two such carriages can be used atopposite sides of the center of the machine, as indicated in Fig. 4.

I claim as my invention:

1. A landing gear for flying machines, comprising a frame having anarrow base portion extending lengthwise of the machine, a wheel supportextending lengthwise of said frame, ground wheels at the front and rearportions of said wheel support, cross rods extending from said wheelsupport through elongated slots in said frame, and elastic bands passingunder said frame base and attached to said cross rods.

2. A landing gear for flying machines, comprising aframe having arelatively long narrow base extending lengthwise of the machine, avertically movable wheel carriage comprising connected side barsextending lengthwise at opposite sides of and close to said frame basewhereby said carguided in its movements by said frame base, groundwheels mounted on the front and rear portions of said carriage, andresilient connections between said car riage and frame base disposed ata plurality of points lengthwise of said carriage and permitting thecarriage to yield relatively to said frame base.

3. Ailanding gear forflying machines, comprising a frame having arelatively long narrow base extending lengthwise of the machine, avertically movable wheel carriage comprising connected side barsextending'lengthwise at opposite sides of and close to said frame basebetween the upper and lower extremities thereof, ground wheels mountedon the .front and rear portions of said carriage, and springs yieldinglysupporting said base from said carriage at a plurality of pointslengthwise of said carriage.

4. A landing gear for flying machines, comprising a frame having arelatively long narrow base extending lengthwise of the machine, avertically movable wheel carriage comprising side bars extendinglength-' MAXIMILLIAN F. STUPAR.

Witnesses W. 'ROHRBACHER, L. WERNER.

